Poverty and Inequality

Councils to be placed under legal duty to house victims of domestic abuse

13.05.19: Councils are to be given a legal duty to provide “safe houses” for victims of domestic abuse and their children, under new plans announced by the prime minister. Theresa May announced the new policy, backed by government funding...

Councils get £30m boost to look after asylum seeking children

10.05.19: The government has announced a £30m funding boost for councils looking after unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) following warnings that minors are being “left in limbo.” Immigration minister Caroline Nokes reveal...

Scottish Government faces ‘significant challenge’ in delivering new devolved welfare benefits, says auditor

02.05.19: The government has “no clear picture” of what is needed to deliver further devolved welfare benefits in Scotland and faces a “significant challenge” in the next stage of the devolution of powers, the national spending wat...

Councils face £1bn-a-year funding gap for single homelessness as charities give government ‘wake-up call’

24.04.19: Local authorities in England have more than halved their spending on single homeless people since 2008 spending and are spending £1bn less a year, major research from homeless charities have found. St Mungo’s and Homeless Link s...

Bristol City Council makes ‘reckless’ £9m investment into clean energy firm

08.04.19: Bristol City Council is to put a further £9m into its loss-making energy firm in a decision criticised as “reckless” and a “staggering waste of public money.” The council has already invested £27m into Br...

Bristol council brings in licencing scheme for private landlords to protect renters

04.04.19: Private landlords in 12 areas across Bristol will now have to pay £1,200 for licensing to rent properties as part of a council’s bid to improve protection for renters. Bristol City Council has agreed to expand the licensing sche...

Council ‘unlawfully failed’ to carry out liberty deprivation checks for thousands of vulnerable people due to financial pressures

01.04.19: A council has deliberately failed to assess thousands of vulnerable people who may have been unlawfully deprived of their liberty, the local government ombudsman has ruled. Staffordshire County Council decided in May 2016 that it would stop...

Stoke-on-Trent council’s ‘inadequate’ children services slammed by Ofsted in ‘outrageous dereliction of duty’

19.03.19: Vulnerable children are “not being protected” by Stoke-on-Trent City Council and are being failed by its “inadequate” services, Ofsted has found. An inspection of the children’s services in Stoke found that chi...

Proposed population-based council funding formula would hit deprived areas

21.02.19: Government proposals to assess local authorities’ spending needs based on population will only divert funding from councils serving deprived areas to those serving more affluent areas, according to an analysis from leading economists. ...

Supreme Court to hear care workers' case in £400m Mencap sleep-in battle

18.02.19: Low-paid social care workers have won the right to appeal against a decision not to pay minimum wage to carers performing ‘sleep-in’ shifts following a ruling by the Supreme Court. The decision means social care workers will be...

Mother appeals to Supreme Court after Birmingham City Council declared her ‘intentionally homeless’

04.02.19: Birmingham City Council is being taken to the Supreme Court by a woman who claimed she was forced into homelessness by the council. The mother-of-four was declared “intentionally homeless” after the city council said she should...

Scottish councils given powers to raise tourism and council taxes as government gets budget backing for ‘triple tax bombshell’

01.02.19: The Scottish Government has paved the way for councils across the country to raise taxes after the SNP brokered a deal with the Green Party, also allowing for a new levy on tourists to be introduced in what one MP called “triple tax bombsh...

Northants given special dispensation by government to raise council tax by 5%

30.01.19: Northamptonshire County Council has been given permission to raise council tax by 2% more than permitted at any other council to help it balance its books amid financial turmoil. Unveiling the final local government finance settlement, comm...

Liverpool mayor calls for council funding review as report reveals austerity cuts are ‘singling-out’ northern cities

28.01.19: Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson has called for an urgent local government funding review after a new report revealed that austerity cuts have “hit hardest” in councils and communities in the north. Centre for Cities’ annual r...

Deal struck in historic 12-year equal pay dispute with Glasgow City Council

18.01.19: An agreement has been reached over the long-running and bitter dispute over equal pay at Glasgow City Council, which will see thousands of female council workers receive pay-outs worth an estimated £500m. Unions and legal representati...